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Iran, Syria: Smuggling Weapons to Gain Influence in the West Bank
(Forbes) Stratfor - A Jordanian security official said that five Syrian smugglers caught near Madaba in central Jordan on Aug. 6 had anti-tank missiles, surface-to-air missiles and assault rifles in their possession. Contacts in the area claim that the smugglers were Palestinians from Syria affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. The weapons were obtained from Syrian army warehouses in Sweida in southwest Syria, and were to be transported through Jordan to Hebron in the West Bank. Iran is working with Palestinian groups to transport munitions through Iraq and Jordan to the West Bank. To achieve this, Iran would likely work through Syrian intelligence and local Palestinian proxies. The PFLP-GC has a close working relationship with Syrian intelligence.